Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the characters or the movie, "The Professional."

However, this little piece of reflection is my work. Please ask permission before reposting.

Notes: I had to write this after watching the movie for the first time ever this evening. It hit me deeply on a level that a movie hasn't reached in ages. So here is my tribute and my thanks.

Please Let Me Know What You Think!

O o o O o o O

The end of the hallway was as a tunnel of light; a passing into a new life, old one falling away from him with each exhausted step he took.

Leon saw the luminescence reveal possibilities of the happiness that awaited him, the girl who he knew would be there, beckoning him onward, outward.

Mathilda.

He knew her, saw her through the layers that she had painted on herself. She had slowly peeled them off one by one, at last baring her true skin. Her love was pure. Her love was sincere.

Alas, the pain she endured, the world he himself showed her. They both were a kin to suffering and regret. It was something they would have to teach each other to let go of. He already had a taste of what it would be like, embracing her small frame in his arms.

No more were the old ways. No more revenge, no more killing. They would live free, away from recognition, away from expectation. They would plant roots. Enjoy life, watch Gene Kelly, look out the window, enjoy the sunset without fear.

He loved her. Of that it was sure. Leon knew she was not yet ready for everything that he was capable of giving, that he wished he could, were this another place, another time, another circumstance. As it was, indescribable, indefinable, his love was deep, his heart open, breathing the fresh air in a world it hadn't allowed itself exposure to. It took Mathilda to show it the way.

Someday she would know.

Someday he would be able to show her what she truly meant to him. When time had passed, when all sins were erased, he would thank her for saving his life. For bringing him to life.

Someday he would take her face in his hands, overwhelmed with the knowledge of what she made him, and kiss her, just like she had once requested. Passion, gratitude, redemption, released and received.

He walked toward it eagerly with a smile on his face, a glow forming in his countenance.

Someday…

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